Labor's Edge: Views from the California Labor Movement

Ricardo Lara for Insurance Commissioner

This week we take a closer look at another race where big money is coming in from business interests trying to buy a statewide office that’s important to working people: Insurance Commissioner.

In the last week, Steve Poizner, the longtime Republican who is trying to fool voters by running as a No Party Preference (NPP) candidate, received $1.4 million in support from several independent expenditures (IEs) funded by Realtors, charter schools and big corporations.

Who is Ricardo Lara? Lara is a State Senator with a long record in support of working people. His lifetime voting record with the Labor Federation is 96%, including a 100% rating in 2017.Lara is a champion for health care for all, defending the Affordable Care Act against Trump’s attacks and has stood up to Big Pharma and the millionaire medical establishment to fight to lower health care costs for our families.

Who is Steve Poizner? First thing to know about Poizner is despite his ballot designation, he’s a Republican through-and-through. In his first stint as Insurance Commissioner, he regularly sided with special interests like the insurance industry and against working people. He also has a record against a woman’s right to choose and was even sued for allowing his insurance industry friends to charge women MORE for health insurance. He claims to be “independent” but that’s all a smoke screen for his right-wing agenda.

What’s at stake: California’s Insurance Commissioner has some oversight in the insurance market in a number of areas including health care, auto, home/property and workers’ compensation. Working people need an ally in this office who will fight for them and stand up to special interests. In addition, this race could provide the playbook for other Republicans to win statewide office in the future if Poizner is successful. In short, it’s a race we must win.

Ricardo Lara is the clear choice for working people in the Insurance Commissioner’s race. Let’s turn out every vote we can for him in the next 13 days to ensure big money special interests don’t steal this race!